Mets VP Paul DePodesta hired by Browns as executive vice president

The Cleveland Browns made their first front office move of the off-season Tuesday, hiring New York Mets vice president of player development and scouting Paul DePodesta as executive vice president.

The Cleveland Browns made their first front office move of the off-season Tuesday, hiring New York Mets vice president of player development and scouting Paul DePodesta as chief strategy officer, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

DePodesta’s position with the team will be at the executive vice president level, meaning that only owner Jimmy Haslam and president Alec Scheiner rank above him.

DePodesta has never worked in the NFL, but did spend time working in the CFL early in his career. He played both football and baseball while attending Harvard.

He worked with Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics beginning in 1999, and was featured in Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball.

The Browns reportedly started talking to DePodesta shortly after the Mets were knocked out of the World Series. 

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